Sascha Hoogendoorn lab aims to study and perturb cellular signalling, with a particular interest in the primary cilium and the Hedgehog signalling pathway. Her research combines organic chemistry with cell biology and CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing to develop molecules that enable further dissection and manipulation of ciliary signalling.
The principal focus of the research conducted by the Waser group is the development and application of new catalytic methods for the synthesis of bioactive compounds. His lab harnesses the power of modern catalysis to promote C-C or C-X bond formation, allowing for a rapid and efficient enhancement in molecular complexity.
The Academic Chemical Screening platform of Switzerland (ACCESS), led by Gerardo Turcatti, provides the scientific community with chemical diversity, screening facilities, medicinal chemistry and know-how in chemical genetics.
Aurélien Roux main research interest explores the common biological and mechanical mechanisms by which surfaces formed by cell monolayers or lipid bilayers are deformed during physiological processes such as membrane traffic, endocytosis, cell-division, cell migration and others.
The ultimate goal of Christian Heinis lab is the development of therapeutics by developing peptide macrocycles for potential therapeutic application using phase based strategy and biological and chemical tools. His lab currently develops potent antagonists to a range of disease targets, following medical indications in which bicyclic peptides promise advantages over small molecules and monoclonal antibodies.
Pierre Gönczy’s main research interests lie in understanding fundamental cell division processes, notably in the context of a developing organism and with a focus on the mechanisms governing centriole biogenesis and centrosome duplication as well as asymmetric cell division, a crucial phenomena for generating cellular diversity during development and in stem cell lineages.
Beat Fierz lab focuses on the study of the structure, dynamics and function of chromatin and related multi-protein complexes in vitro and in cells. These investigations require an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of chemistry, biology and biophysics.
The Winssinger lab makes use of small molecules and chemistry techniques to probe biological mechanisms. To accelerate probe discovery, the lab has pioneered DNA-encoded library technologies and has extended this technique to fold peptides in constricted conformations and are applying this approach to mimic affinity proteins. Their research has also pioneered proximity-enabled chemistries and used it to image oligonucleotides in cellulo or in vivo, turn-on drugs in response to biomarkers and more generally develop methodology for logic-gated responses. As part of this program, the Winssinger lab is developing photocatalytic reactions in chemical biology and using bioluminescence as a light source for photochemistry.
The Loewith lab investigates the structures, functions and regulation of the two, broadly conserved, target of rapamycin (TOR) protein complexes. They use a combination of yeast genetics, cell biology, structural biology, chemical biology and biochemistry approaches and are particularly interested in how TOR complexes form higher order helical structures and how they are regulated downstream of mechanical changes in membrane tension.